Bureau of Labor Statistics Surveys API

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: BLS Public Data Popular Series Surveys API
  description: 'The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Public Data API allows developers to retrieve published historical time series data from all BLS surveys. Version 2 requires a free API registration key and provides higher query limits: up to 500 daily queries, 50 series per request, and 20 years of data. The API covers Consumer Price Index (CPI), employment and unemployment statistics, wages, productivity, industry employment, and occupational statistics.'
  version: '2.0'
  contact:
    name: BLS Developer Support
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm
    email: data_staff@bls.gov
  termsOfService: https://www.bls.gov/developers/termsOfService.htm
  license:
    name: Public Domain
    url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/termsOfService.htm
servers:
- url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v2
  description: BLS Public Data API v2 (requires registration key)
- url: https://api.bls.gov/publicAPI/v1
  description: BLS Public Data API v1 (no registration required)
tags:
- name: Surveys
  description: Discover and list available BLS surveys
paths:
  /surveys:
    get:
      operationId: listSurveys
      summary: List All BLS Surveys
      description: Returns a list of all BLS surveys with their abbreviations, names, and metadata. Use this endpoint to discover available survey types and their associated series prefixes.
      tags:
      - Surveys
      parameters:
      - name: registrationkey
        in: query
        required: false
        description: Your registered BLS API key
        schema:
          type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: List of all available BLS surveys
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SurveysResponse'
              example:
                status: REQUEST_SUCCEEDED
                responseTime: 45
                message: []
                Results:
                  survey:
                  - survey_abbreviation: CU
                    survey_name: Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers
                  - survey_abbreviation: LN
                    survey_name: Current Population Survey
                  - survey_abbreviation: CE
                    survey_name: Current Employment Statistics
                  - survey_abbreviation: OE
                    survey_name: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
  /surveys/{surveyAbbreviation}:
    get:
      operationId: getSurveyDetails
      summary: Get Survey Details
      description: Returns metadata and information for a specific BLS survey identified by its abbreviation code.
      tags:
      - Surveys
      parameters:
      - name: surveyAbbreviation
        in: path
        required: true
        description: The BLS survey abbreviation code (e.g., CU, LN, CE)
        schema:
          type: string
        example: CU
      - name: registrationkey
        in: query
        required: false
        description: Your registered BLS API key
        schema:
          type: string
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Survey details response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SurveyDetailResponse'
        '404':
          description: Survey not found
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorResponse'
components:
  schemas:
    SurveysResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        status:
          type: string
        responseTime:
          type: integer
        message:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        Results:
          type: object
          properties:
            survey:
              type: array
              items:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Survey'
    SurveyDetail:
      type: object
      properties:
        survey_abbreviation:
          type: string
        survey_name:
          type: string
        popular_series:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
            properties:
              seriesID:
                type: string
              series_title:
                type: string
    ErrorResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        status:
          type: string
          enum:
          - REQUEST_FAILED_ERROR
          - REQUEST_NOT_PROCESSED
        responseTime:
          type: integer
        message:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
          description: Error message details
        Results:
          type: object
          description: Empty results object
    SurveyDetailResponse:
      type: object
      properties:
        status:
          type: string
        responseTime:
          type: integer
        message:
          type: array
          items:
            type: string
        Results:
          type: object
          properties:
            survey:
              type: array
              items:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/SurveyDetail'
    Survey:
      type: object
      properties:
        survey_abbreviation:
          type: string
          description: Two-letter survey abbreviation code
          example: CU
        survey_name:
          type: string
          description: Full name of the BLS survey program
          example: Consumer Price Index - All Urban Consumers
  securitySchemes:
    ApiKey:
      type: apiKey
      in: query
      name: registrationkey
      description: Free API registration key from https://data.bls.gov/registrationEngine/. Required for v2 API access with higher rate limits.
externalDocs:
  description: BLS Developers Home
  url: https://www.bls.gov/developers/home.htm